NewDevils,Volume1
by Scarecrow667
Summary: The official reboot of New Devils, starting from the bottom up and doing it right this time. The story follows three young beings as they slowly converge on Kuoh Town, with a variety of evil groups persuing them, all while they do their best to live normal and peaceful lives.
1. ProloguePart1

Prologue Part 1

A/N: Hello again to all that have followed me thus far. Thank you for being patient with me, because now I have officially started the beginnings of the New Devils reboot. As for why I did that? I wasn't pleased with how my last story turned out, so now I'm starting over, and doing it right. Now, here is New Devils!

_My name is Adrian Michaels. I was born and raised as a New Yorker, and wouldn't have it any other way. _

_Even when I was young, I had New York City at heart, so when I was thirteen, and stumbled upon three upperclassmen hassling a girl my age (so far as to ripping her shirt to cop a feel), I decided to step in. _

_I gave her my favorite black jean coat, to cover herself, and directed her to my mothers restaurant, where she would be taken care of until I got there. _

_Needless to say, my mom, Victoria__, was surprised when a girl showed up at her restaurant (which doubles as our home) wearing my coat, buttoned up to hide her torn shirt, and even more so when I came around twenty minutes later; a black eye, a broken nose, a missing molar, a deep cut that runs up my chin, curving under my bottom lip adorning my face, and a leg that was broken so bad that I had to limp home, needing a crutch for the unforeseeable future._

_What surprised both of them most of all though? I came home looking like that after _winning_ the fight between those three jackwagons. _

_But, my victory was shallow. Turns out the leader of the three, Rourke, was the son of a well respected police officer, and as such, I was put in handcuffs, and had to spend the night in a jail cell on charges of assault and battery. _

_Luckily, the judge saw my limp, saw the three I fought, listened to the testimony against them from the girl they hassled (who I learned to call Blizy) and I was released with the charges being dropped. _

_But things didn't end so nicely, because the bullies kept watch outside of my home, and the police officer, Rourke Sr., kept a very close eye on me, waiting for me or his son to slip up. _

_On the flip side of things, Blizy and I became close friends, and in two years, we became something more. _

_We hung out more than a few times (probably more than a few in two years), and when the time was right, I got her something special; a gold star belt buckle she had her eye on. _

_I bought her the belt buckle, took her to the bottom of the Empire State Building, gave her the buckle as a present, and started to go for a lean in, hopefully getting my first kiss...and that's when all hell broke loose. _

_In the two years me and Blizy have met, the terrorist known as Alex Mercer unleashed the Blacklight Virus into the city, making life more than a little challenging for those still inside it. Eventually, the virus was destroyed, supposedly by Mercer, and even avoided getting nuked, but sometime later, the virus was unleashed again. _

_Going back to my lean in, before I could even kiss her, I saw the street behind her become flooded by a horde of Blacklight creatures. I grabbed Blizys' hand, and by the skin of my teeth and on the balls of my good and/or crippled feet, I managed to get Blizy to some random store, shoving her inside before I myself was caught up in the stampede. _

_I was slammed into by several creatures, but one of them stood out the most; a large quadruped creature, like a nightmarish cross between a rhino and a bull, and on its back was none other than Alex Mercer himself. _

_I saw him through the stampede, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw Mercer leaping towards me, grabbing me by the throat and sprinting up the side of the Empire State Building, holding me by my neck over the edge. _

_He said to me, _

_"You have something special in you kid. I could use something like that..." Before I could do anything, he jammed his claws into my abdomen, and dropped me off the side of the building, with something that felt like flaming barbed wire coursing through my veins. Then, after everything, my vision faded to black..._

_Next thing I know, I'm in the back of a garbage truck, about to be compacted, but I put my hands up, bracing myself, and to my own shock and surprise, I broke the damn compactor with my bare hands! _

_As I crawled out of the wreckage, scaring the hell out of the garbage men, I noticed two things aside from being stronger. _

_1\. I no longer needed my crutch, for my limp was healed, as well as my scar vanishing from sight. _

_2\. All my other abilities have been enhanced as well. Strength, speed, perception, endurance, everything to superhuman standards. _

_But, with my new gifts arose new problems (for lack of a better way of describing it)._

_I walked home, finding Rourke and his buddies harrassing my mother and Blizy, looking for me while trying to start more trouble among the Blacklight chaos now rampaging the streets. _

_I myself couldn't believe he would stoop that low. So when I arrived, I told him to leave, and even took a punch from him. To show I meant business, I sent a punch to his chest, and that's when I truly messed up. _

_My arm went straight through, and sprouted several black and red tendrils that spiraled through his body, destroying him, _consuming _him, until there was no trace of him left. My head then started to throb, ache even. I fell to my knees, clutching my head, and right before my eyes, I was seeing Rourkes entire life flash before my eyes, right up until his last breath, watching me send my fist through his chest from his perspective._

_That shook me right down to my core, still haunting me to this day. _

_Rourkes' two buddies then ran off, while my mother was in shock by what I had done, and Blizy..._

_She called me a monster and started running, and I haven't seen her since. _

_After that, all I could think about was leaving it all behind, and started to form a plan to leave the city, where all the people I care for could live in peace without a freak like me. _

_I came up with a plan to use the sewer system to escape the quarantine that New York was put under, but as soon as I started to make my way there, I saw my mother chasing after me, telling me that I was still her son, no matter what I was, because '_what_ we are doesn't determine _who _we are.' _

_So we decided to leave together, but my mother didn't want to leave without my father, Richard._

_My father was a chemist for Gentek, the company that made the Blacklight Virus, so naturally, breaking in to try and break him out was a walk in the park...if that park was Jurassic park._

_So I went in, briefly embracing my new Blacklight powers (slaying guards and 'consuming' them) to get to my dad, only to find him in the lab, backing away from me, wondering how I got my powers, and I had no choice but to explain my run in with Mercer. It was all downhill from there..._

_He called me an abomination, saying I should have just died off like the rest of his experiments, which in turn led me to ask, _

_"What experiments?" He shook his head at me, _

_"I guess you'll never know..." and before I could stop him, he held up a device in his hand with a red button, and I was sent flying back from the force of an explosion; an explosion my father caused, and was standing right in the middle of. _

_I managed to give the rest of the Blackwatch guys the slip (Blackwatch being the motherfuckers who own Gentek), but when I returned to my mother, it broke my heart to tell her my father was dead, and had more questions than answers. _

_Regardless, I led her out through a combination of the sewers and burrowing, I managed to get both my mom and myself out of the quarantine zone, and just a step away from freedom. We just had to get out of the country, and we did just that, but just by the skin of my teeth. _

_We made it to the airport, with me using my old crutch and my new shapeshifting powers, we managed to make it look like Victoria Michaels was just leaving the country to start anew after the tragedy of losing both her husband and son in New York, with her young apprentice, Michael Aiden (me in disguise). _

_So, at only sixteen years old, I'm having to start fresh, with no friends, a mother who I'm certain is terrified of me, with powers I only have a base idea of how to use, but in a place on the map that is not only far away from New York, but sounded quiet, peaceful..._

_Kuoh Town, here I come..._


	2. ProloguePart2

_Prologue Part 2_

_M'name is Calvin Hicks. I'm a sixteen year old New Marais native, and I got a hell of a story to tell ya. _

_Where to begin? Well, my mother was a sophomore in high school, while my father was a senior in college...a deadbeat senior in college, with no real name (yeah I know, fucked up scene right there). _

_So, by the time my mother gave birth to me, I guess it was too much for her, and she died right there. So it was up to her mom, my grandma, Esther, to raise me. _

_It was fine, my grandma didn't make a bunch of money, and we didn't have the best living arrangements, but it's all good. We were getting along just fine...mostly. _

_I've been told that I have an attitude problem, and make questionable morale choices, and I can agree with this to an extent. _

_I've been in and out of some places, basically jails for troubled kids like yours truly, but I was sent in for the crime of stealing food for me and my grandma. _

_She never approved of what I did (or kept doing), but she always believed that there was good in me, which is why she kept (barely) bailing me out. _

_Then my grandma got sick, like paralyzed and dying sick, and it was all because of the Ray Field Plague. _

_In Empire City, something called a Ray Sphere went off, killing shit loads of people, and created the plague, which was either killing more people, like it was with my grandma, or it created other things...things called Conduits._

_When the town became overrun with these Conduit things, either swampy or icy, things took a turn for the worse._

_I was having to use a shovel on this swamp creature outside my house, trying to keep everything away from my grandma that was unconscious inside, until there was this bright flash of light, and the monsters started dying, and for some reason, I passed out..._

_Next thing I know, I wake up in a morgue three days later, with a guy literally pissing himself in the corner seeing me, and judging from the scalpel in front of him, I'm guessing he was about to do an autopsy. But what crushed my heart the most, was seeing my grandma on the table next to me, cold as ice. _

_I wandered out of the morgue, in nothing but my birthday suit, stumbling hazily through alleyways, until I noticed something; almost all the puddles of water I was walking through was giving off some sort of electrical current. Something inside of me was making the water spark and pulse with electricity, like a fallen power line._

_As I stumbled through the alleys, I found some old clothes in the trash, and made my way back into the city. In the center, I saw a memorial dedicated to Cole MacGrath, the 'Patron Saint of New Marais.'_

_MacGrath was a Conduit, but unlike the ones I've seen, he remained human looking, as did a few others that I looked into (as best I could dressed like a fucking hobo). _

_Anyway, it turns out Cole activated something called an RFI (don't ask me what it stands for, because I don't know), and it killed off all those who were Conduits, or had the Conduit gene in them...but in theory (MY theory), I think it also created more. _

_I thought it would be smart to keep my powers on the down low, because the news started blasting that Conduits are now 'Bioterrorists.' This new government agency, called the Department of Unified Protection (or D.U.P.) started rounding up other Conduits, and locking them up. The goal was to keep events like Empire City and New Marais from happening again. I knew if I got caught this time, no one was going to bail me out. _

_So I ran. _

_I ran as far as my legs could carry me. _

_I almost made it to the docks when I felt a pair of hands on me, clamping my mouth shut and dragging me into an alley. I fought as hard as I could, but it wasn't until I brought a fist up, charging it with my new power and popping him in the jaw that he finally let go. _

_He dropped me to the ground, and I saw two REALLY old geezers, both in white hooded robes and brown pants, but one was Middle Eastern (I think), had a red sash belt, and a silver sword at his side. The other one was neon white, like albino white, had a blue sash belt, and something on his back that looked like Cole MacGraths weapon-turned-memorial, but looked more like a trident. _

_They not only knew my name, but they also knew of my powers, telling me I would be destined for good things, _if_ I made the right choices. Th__e blue sashed one held up his hand, making it spark with white electricity, and in a flash of white light, everything went black. _

_I woke up, finding myself on some random stretch of road, in clean clothes, with a bag of essentials and yen(?), a Japanese translation book in hand, and finally, when I found a guy driving by willing to give me directions, I found out I was a year in the future._

_The guy offered me a ride, and I was about to accept, but then the guys passenger stepped between us, gave him some cash (stacks of it), and told him we both had it from there. _

_So as the guy drove off (what I'm pretty sure was a few thousand yen richer), I could only stare at the guy and ask as calmly as I humanly possibly could,_

_"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR DEAL, MAN?!!"_

_"Sorry," said the guy, "but I didn't want you to blow up that guys truck with your powers again, Calvin." _

_Needless to say, I was shocked to learn that he knew both my name and the fact of my powers. I was also confused by how he said _again.

_He then went on to introduce himself as Prince Darius Zafar, the descendant of a prince with no name from Iran, from a long ass time ago, and he knew of my powers because he himself is a Conduit like myself. He even held his hands up and created a couple small sand twisters in his hands as proof (nearly pissed myself seeing that I'll admit). _

_He even said he has the ability to look through time, and said he saw me setting foot in the truck, with my own electrical powers igniting the gas inside._

_Now sand powers are one thing, but time travel? C'mon! _

_That's when I had to eat my own words. He placed a hand on my shoulder, reached behind himself with his free hand, and in a swirl of sand, I found myself back in New Marais. _

_I saw my grandma, still alive and well, cooking in the kitchen, while I myself was sitting at the table, facing away from the closed window. _

_I remembered! This was the night some jackass broke my window! _

_I looked down, and even saw the same swirled stone that was used to do it right by my feet. I reached down, picked it up, looked back at the window, told Darius to be ready, and I threw the rock at full force at the window. Of course the glass shattered __right as Darius brought me back to the future, but I knew I was __running outside to see who threw the rock. I knew, because I already remember doing it! _

_Sorry, got off track again. H__e then handed me an envelope, and told me to find the landlord of some apartment building, to tell him that 'The Prince' sent me, and that he could help me._

_Before I could argue, he was gone without a trace._

_I didn't have much to go with except for what I had on me, and I certainly didn't trust that Darius guy, mainly because he had the exact same silver sword that the old man with the red sash was holding. _

_But I don't have many options left, so..._

_Kuoh Town, here I come..._


	3. ProloguePart3

Prologue Part 3

_My name is Katrina Lagos. I am a seventeen years old, and grew up in the Folóï oak forest. If you don't like sad or troubling stories, I suggest you move along. _

_For those sticking around, my story started at birth. From the very moment I was born and resting in my own crib, my mom knew I was different. She knew because she heard me babbling one night when I was supposed to be sleeping, and she found a broken leopard snake in my tiny fist, killed by my own hand._

_I grew up in a cabin in the woods, raised by my mother, a hunter, and my abusive drunk father, who thought he was a hunter. My mother did her best to protect me, but my dad still managed to get a few slaps in from time to time._

_One night, when I was twelve years old, my dad goes off crazier than usual, tied up both me and my mom, and then killed her. I managed to slip out my binds, and made my way into the forest. He chased me through the woods, hunting knife in hand, and for a moment I thought I lost him, until I saw something strange planted in an old tree stump; it was an old metal sword, with an upside down gold and silver skull as part of the hilt, glowing red runes in the side of the blade, and the blade itself was worn but wide, growing in width from the hilt until it curved close to the top, like a scimitar. Most importantly, the sword looked as though it were perfect for someone my size at the time. _

_I started to make my way towards it, until my dad found me, pinning me to the ground and about to plunge the knife into my throat. I held him off, scared for my life, until I found a new feeling inside. Something that started to well up from the bottom of my stomach and make its way into my heart..._

_**Rage...**_

_My strength seemed to double or even triple as I shoved my dad off of me, sending him skidding so hard that he left a rut in the dirt. I scrambled for the sword, tore it from the stump, and with one almighty thrust, I plunged the blade deep into his chest. _

_He looked down at the blade, then straight into my eyes, _

_"You...were never my daughter..." and spit blood in my face. _

_Consumed by rage, I brought the sword straight up, cutting through his torso and slicing his head in half. _

_That's when things got strange, for lack of a better phrasing of it._

_Once I sliced through him, instead of showering me in blood, I was covered in ash, as my father disintegrated right in front of me. His ashes flew towards me, embedding into my skin, and in just an instant, I looked like a ghost of my former self. _

_I then went home, burying my mom next to the garden out back, where she felt most at home when my dad wasn't doing his drunken bullshit. _

_For the next three years after that, I just tended to the garden for vegetables, hunted animals in the forest for meat and fur, and kept to myself. I kept the sword at hand, self teaching myself to use it should I ever need to, and noticing that as I grew, so did it. The blade extended as I grew taller, and at times it seemed like the blade seemed to grow wider._

_It intrigued me, I'm not going to lie, but I never wanted to feel that rage again. The rage I felt when I killed my dad. I never wanted to hurt anyone or see anyone get hurt again. I hoped...I prayed..._

_My wish was not granted._

_One day, when I was on a hunt, I saw a black furred stag, with large branches out horns, splashes of white on his chest, front hooves and face, and ghostly white eyes. Most disturbing of all was that it had a splash of blood on the white on his chest, looking like a small diamond stacked onto a larger diamond (in fact, I didn't know any better, I would have said the blood was shaped like a tie)._

_I had my moms old hunting bow out, an arrow nocked, drawn and loosed, and hit him right in his blood tie..._

_No response. It didn't even blink. _

_He then ran off with the arrow still in his chest. I knew I had to hunt him down, because it was too dangerous to let an injured animal go like that. I tracked him down, but I only found the arrow. _

_Something was off. The arrow was actually planted into a tree stump, but not just any stump..._

_It was the same stump I pulled my sword from three years prior. _

_I heard a scream, and while I was already shaken by what I had seen and discovered, I ran to the source._

_It didn't take me long, but I soon found a girl with short pink hair, red eyes, dressed like she were ready for bed, screaming and crying and running like she were being chased. She saw me, and I expected her to start running away. Instead, she ran towards me,_

_"Help me! They're after me!" I knelt down on a knee, set down my bow and readied myself to take hold, but when she came close enough,_

BOOM!

_Her head jerked to the side, a large hole in the side of her head, and she was dead on the spot. I turned, and saw three men in black tactical armor and helmets, two holding assault rifles, and the third a shotgun with a smoking barrel. Judging from my moms old books, I would say they were military. _

_"Target is neutralized," said the one with the smoking gun, "but there is a witness. Should we deal with her too?" _

_I didn't want for a response, for as soon as I stood up, I felt it again. Starting from the bottom of my stomach and into my heart..._

_**Rage...!**_

_Before any of them could shoot their guns, I was already upon them, tearing into them with my sword and spraying blood and gore on the forest floor. _

_As soon as it was over, I fell to my knees, covered in blood and tearing up, not believing it happened again. _

_With no other option, I burned the three soldiers by the cabin, and buried the girl next to my mom. Before she was buried though, I noticed that she had two small horns, shaped like cat ears, growing from her head. _

Is this really humanity now? _I wondered. _Just killing others for minor differences? _It made me wonder what they would do when they saw me in my ash gray glory. _

_I disposed of the remains of the soldiers, and continued on with the rest of my day, but kept a close eye on my surroundings, just in case there were more. _

_Turns out I was right. _

_Early the next morning, as I was looking out from the second story of the cabin, I noticed that there were three more soldiers hiding in the trees, bearing rifles for when I would step outside._

_I quickly packed a bag with essentials, and with three arrows nocked into my bow, I shot all three at the same time, forcing them to fall as I fled out the back door, with several more troops following close behind. _

_I lured them into the forest, dropped my bag, and started to climb quick. Before long, more soldiers showed up, all carrying guns, and scanning the area for me. _

_Right where I wanted them. _

_I dropped down, plunging my sword into one, and then turned my attention to the others, slashing and cutting my way through them, the bloodlust taking me over. _

_Eventually, all but one was dead. I advanced towards him, but he brought a large handgun out and shot me in the shoulder. It didn't feel like a normal bullet either. It felt heavier. So heavy that I fell backwards, dropping my sword and falling flat on my back, clutching the wound. _

_The man then began to speak into a walkie talkie, but stopped when he saw my wound. It hurt like hell, but when I looked down, I saw it had started to heal, and close like I had never been wounded. _

_The soldier was in shock, and made no move when I stood up and drove my sword into him. His walkie talkie was still going off, and a voice told him a set of coordinates to meet up at. I listened carefully, and when I went back to my bag to look at the map, I knew where to go. _

_I went to another section of the Folóï oak forest, finding several small tents and one large tent. I silently went through and picked off the soldiers, but when I got to the main tent, I made a discovery. _

_There was a desk, covered in papers, with the names of several different groups written on them, and appeared to have informants working in each of them. _

_Blackwatch, D.U.P., the Diclonius Research Facility, and finally, one group that stood out to me the most was one that had no name at all, but a red and white symbol that resembled and open umbrella. _

_As I scanned the papers as quick as I did, I heard a whimper to my left, and my heart broke at the sight; t__here next to me were three young girls, all nude, trapped in metal and glass cages. _

_What's even more shocking? All three of them had the same pink hair, red eyes and horns of the one girl I failed to save as well._

_I made a move to free them, but was then slammed into the ground from behind. I turned my head back, and I couldn't believe the monstrosity behind me. _

_It had the head, arms and torso of a woman, but in place of legs she had a long snake-like tail with a scorpion stinger on the end. She was also covered in green scales, and he head was encased in some sort of hood, like a cobra. _

_She wrapped her serpentine body around me, keeping me restrained, while a man in a white lab coat stepped into the large tent. _

_He rambled on about how I was a far more interesting subject than any of the 'Diclonius' (as if I knew what that was), and then proceeded to pull out the same large handgun that hurt me earlier. _

BOOM!

_One girl slumped in her cage. _

BOOM!

_Two girls. _

_Before he could shoot the third, I reached down deep, and roared into the air as I felt that feeling creep into my heart, now more willing..._

_**RAGE!!!**_

_I slipped from the snake woman's tight grip, hooked my hands under her, and threw her at the man, sending the two tearing through the cloth wall of the tent. Before they could return, I jammed my sword into the side of the cage, prying it open and freeing the pink haired girl. _

_I scooped her up into my arms right as the snake woman and the scientist returned, but right when the man started to speak again, his blood began to leak from his body, float into the air and disappear behind him. _

_The monster mainly blocked my vision, but I saw the scientist fall, revealing the shadow of a male humanoid creature, wielding a long serpentine bladed sword with a fanged skull in the hilt, with the blood of the scientist flying straight into the mouth of the new creature. _

_The two creatures began to fight, while I grabbed a handful of paper off the table and ran. I ran to save the child in my arms, I ran from the two creatures fighting, and I ran to hopefully return to some state of a peaceful life_

_When I reached a point where I believed us to be safe, I learned the girls name, an orphan (thanks to those soldiers) named Riko, and I saw the papers I grabbed was part of a torn map with an alias for a contact written on it: A.W._

_So now I intend to take care of Riko like my own, and I made a silent vow to destroy__ every last being involved in this, starting with this 'A.W.' character mentioned on this map._

_Kuoh Town, here I come..._


	4. ThePulse

Chapter 1: The Pulse

The story begins on a sunny day in Kuoh Town, with two figures standing outside a decent looking house.

One was a middle aged woman, with short brown hair graying at the temples, vibrant green eyes, and a smile that could warm the coldest of souls.

On her right was a teenage boy, who currently had the hood of his jacket up to hide his face (not that he really needed to). He currently had short blonde hair, hazel eyes, a scar on his chin that went up under his lip, and was currently using a crutch to support himself.

His Blacklight disguise was working perfectly.

"This is it Adrian!" The woman said, maintaining her excitement but allowing a tear of joy to drop, "Our new home!"

"Yeah," said the boy, "but mom, we got to keep a low profile, so we need to use the fake name still." The woman sighed,

"Fine..._Aiden Mitchels_," she said, half teasing, half sad because she can't call her own son by his real name.

"Thank you, Victoria," said Adrian, even though he hated calling his mother anything other than 'mom.'

Adrian's mother made her way inside, ready to look inside her new home while Adrian kept inspecting the outside.

_So...this is going to be my new home..._ Adrian thought to himself, _May as well get used to it. _

As this was happening, a boy his age was walking on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. He had his hair buzzed down, with electric blue eyes, and a look of both bewilderment and confusion, as he had a Japanese translation book in one hand, and an envelope in the other. He then approached a rather nice apartment building (far nicer than what he is used to), and saw an older man sweeping the front steps.

As soon as the older man saw the boy, he set his broom down and started to approach him,

"Calvin Hicks, I presume?" The boy turned to the old man, and hooked an eyebrow,

"Depends on who's asking." The older man cleared his throat, and respectfully bowed towards Calvin,

"My name is Daisuke Hashimoto," said the older man, "and I am the landlord of the building." He then gestured to the white building behind himself, which looked pristine to Calvin's perspective.

"It's a nice place," said Calvin, nodding his head in approval.

"Yes," said Daisuke with a laugh, "your prince was very particular about this place being good enough, considering he already paid your rent in advance for you."

Calvin turned to the man in surprise,

"He did what?"

"Prince Darius paid your rent for the next twenty years in advance, and you know what? It's good money, so I'm not even going to ask questions." Daisuke then turned to Calvin, seeing the boys eyes had grown wide like saucers, and laughed as he began to stride into the building, "Also, your prince left some school papers for you to get enrolled at Kuoh Academy. Said part of being ready is being knowledgeable." He then raised an eyebrow as he began to enter, "Also, I've never had someone love me enough to pay my rent for one month let alone twenty years."

The door slammed behind Daisuke, and Calvin could only stare at the building,

_It's more than I could have hoped for, but I'm definitely not going to bitch about it... _Calvin then bore a confused look, _Wait, what did he mean by 'your prince?' _Calvin shook his head of the thought,

_Whatever! This is fine. More than fine actually! _He thought, _I'm just going to take a deep breath, and then I'm going to take a stroll through town to get my bearings._

Calvin then exhaled deeply, and felt an unexpected sure of power leave him, causing him to see random sights before him light up, briefly scaring him. He then saw one of the lights moving inside the building, and he quickly realized it was Daisuke.

_What kind of power is this? _Calvin wondered.

He didn't have time to think of it long, as he heard a shout from behind him, and turned to see a boy his age fall to his knees, clutching his chest while he kept his crutch close to his side.

_What the fuck...? _Adrian wondered to himself. _Why did it feel like someone just tased me? _

He felt his disguise drop as he stood up, leading him to secure his hood. He turned around, and saw the boy across the street. Calvin stared at him, and Adrian stared right back.

Calvin was still seeing lights with his newfound pulse ability, and figured out that the other person in the house across from him had the same light as Daisuke, but the boy on the other hand, his light was...different.

In Calvin's vision, the light was _black. _

As for Adrian, he shifted his vision as well (one of the few things he learned how to do back in New York), and was able to see the life sign of the man in the building, but when he saw the boy staring at him, he noticed the boy wasn't carrying Blacklight (which was a relief), but he wasn't exactly human either (which worried Adrian).

"Hey, uh, Victoria?" Adrian called inside, not taking his eyes off of Calvin for an instant, "I'm going to take a walk in town to see where stores and stuff are at. Maybe get some groceries for tonight." Victoria stood in the doorway, looking out to her disguised son,

"Well why don't you give me a minute to set up shop and we can go together?" Adrian looked back to her, giving her a serious look,

"I think it's best if you stayed here for now," he said, giving her a warning sign, "we don't know this neighborhood just yet. There could be _weirdos_ about."

Upon using the word 'weirdo,' Victoria looked out, and saw Calvin across the street, glancing from her to her son with a curious eyebrow. Victoria nodded, not trusting the strange boy, and slowly closed the door to the house.

Adrian then made sure he had the attention of Calvin, and started to shuffle on his crutch down the street.

Calvin, seeing the exchange between the woman and the boy with the crutch, turned back to the apartment building,

"Hey Daisuke! How long till those enrollment papers need done?" The older man poked his head out once again,

"They need done by tonight. School is tomorrow!" Calvin nodded his head and looked back out to the boy with his crutch,

"I'll get it done by tonight. I'm going to look in town and see what it's got to offer."

Before even waiting for a response from the older man, Calvin ran down the street, trying to keep up with the surprisingly quick boy with the crutch.

As this was transpiring, on the other side of town, a gray skinned girl was holding the hand of a little pink hair girl, just entering the market place on foot.

The gray skinned girl was dressed in loose blue jeans, brown boots, black gloves, a red plaid flannel shirt, a thick brown coat with the hood up, and a large hiking backpack, hiding her sword on the inside.

The pink haired girl was dressed in a short sleeved blue flannel shirt, jean shorts that reached past her knees, black tennis shoes, and a red knit cap to cover her cat ear shaped horns.

"Okay Riko," said Katrina, "we finally made it to Kuoh." The gray girl found a park bench close by, dropped her bag to the side and plopped down into the seat, exhausted from the travel. Riko sat down next to her, clutching her stomach,

"Katrina? Big sister? Can we eat?"

Katrina felt her own stomach rumbling, and gave Riko a sad laugh.

"I guess it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"I think it was since lunch the day before yesterday," said Riko, bringing a finger to her chin in thought. Katrina nodded,

"Well, unfortunately, we can't exactly hunt for meat or forage for berries here in the town, you know that." Riko looked down sadly,

"And we can't buy anything without money," Riko added. Katrina nodded,

"So right now I will need you to wait here, okay? I'm going to try and find some money or food for us." Riko gave Katrina a smile. The gray girl stood up, making sure her hood was up and hiding her face, and made her way into the crowd.

As Riko was out of sight, Katrina made her way into the market place, keeping an eye on the shop keepers to see who were more vigilant, and who could afford to loose a piece of fruit or two.

Soon she came across a male vendor in a large booth, selling a variety of fruits, who was busy taking care of other customers. Katrina picked up a peach, acting like she was inspecting it, while using the other hand to sneak a second into her coat pocket.

As Katrina moved on over to the next section of fruit, the owner of the stand turned in her direction,

"Can I help you?"

Katrina froze, not used to being seen or spoken to since she rescued Riko, hesistated.

"I was just browsing sir," Katrina lied. The man gave her a look, and Katrina elaborated with some truth, "I'm new to this town...and country...and I was looking to see what kind of wares are available."

The man frowned, and stepped out from behind the booth, standing easily three feet taller than her, and five times as burly.

"The same wares you placed in your pocket?"

Katrina froze. She knew she could take him down, but she also knew she couldn't simply kill him for defending his stand from a thief. Let alone kill him in public.

"I don't want any trouble," said Katrina, who continued to stand her ground, "the fruit is not for me." The man cracked his knuckles,

"Whoever it is for, they should be able to provide the yen, or _you_ can talk it over with the police."

Before Katrina could say more, someone stepped between the two; a boy who looked to be a year or two older than Katrina, with slicked back blonde hair, a light tan to his skin, dark sunglasses and dressed in black robes as though he belonged to a church.

"Pardon me for intruding," said the boy with the sunglasses, "but obviously this girl is just hungry, and needed food for her. From what I've heard so far, I'm also assuming someone smaller than her as well."

The man obviously stood higher than the boy, but his church outfit hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Tell you what, I'll let it slide, _if_ you make sure she stays away from my stand." The boy then held up a small grocery bag in one hand, and a couple of yen banknotes in the other,

"How about this: I cover her, and myself, and we forget this ever happened?"

The man looked to the yen, then back to the boy, and snatched the yen out of the boys grip,

"Consider the change as a blessing," said the boy.

"Whatever," said the man, "now get out of here."

The boy turned to Katrina, and gave her a smile, while the gray girl simply gave him a look of disbelief,

"I...I don't know what to say." The boy gave her a smile, but spoke in a serious tone,

"Just don't try to steal from around here. If you need help, just ask, and you shall receive." He then reached for Katrinas hand, who flinched at first, but relented and was given the grocery bag.

Katrina was shocked, but was given a pat on the shoulder,

"If you ever need more help, just come by the church. We can always help those in need," he said. His tone was more kind this time, and Katrina allowed a small smile to cross he lips, the first in a long time.

"Thank you...thank you very much," she said, and began to walk back the way she came.

"No problem. Just remember, if you do come to the church, and need to find me, just ask for Allen Wesker."

Katrina froze upon hearing the name, and something seemed to churn inside her head,

_Allen Wesker...? _

Katrinas' eyes widened in shock,

_A.W.! _

Katrina whirled around, but the boy was already gone, and in his place was nothing but a single black feather.

She slowly walked up to the feather, and plucked it from the ground,

"Allen Wesker, huh?" She looked out into the crowded market place, then up to the sky, "And just what does a church have to do with all of this...?"


	5. GuardianAngels

Chapter 2: Guardian Angels

As Katrinas' encounter with Wesker transpired, Riko looked around while on the park bench. Despite wearing her hat, she could feel many eyes on her, as if they could see her horns as clear as day.

The experience made her uncomfortable, but she kept her head down and kept still, not wanting to disobey Katrina.

Right then, something caught Riko by the nose; a savory smell that actually brought her to her feet. She stepped forward, the smell increasing with each step, causing her stomach to rumble audibly.

She then stopped when the smell finally reached its peak, and found herself standing outside of a stand, only a stones throw away from the bench she was supposed to be seated on.

As she looked over the stand, she saw a man dressed in a white short sleeved shirt, an apron, and a white chefs hat standing behind the counter.

"Hey! You going to buy something or just stand there kid?" He yelled gruffly. Riko blinked back to reality, seeing the chef was speaking to her, and didn't look to pleased to see a slightly filthy girl standing too close to his stand.

Riko stammered,

"I...I...was just..."

"If you got yen, I can get you something. Otherwise, scram!" Riko took a hesitant step back, unaware of the three larger shadows that gathered behind her...

As Riko was being yelled at by the ramen chef, Adrian continued to limp on his crutch down the street, with Calvin not too far behind.

_I have to lose this guy, _Adrian thought to himself, _or at least get him in a spot where I can get him alone, so I can see what the hell he wants. _

Adrian began to delve further into the crowd, but as he did, Calvin began to realize that his pulse vision was fading, and was beginning to lose sight of Adrian in the crowd.

_I can't lose this guy!_ Calvin thought to himself, _That light was way too different to be human. He's got to be a Conduit...like me..._

He finished his thought with a grimace, right when he lost his visual of the boy with the crutch. As soon as eyesight was lost, Adrian ducked around a corner, into an alleyway, crouched down so he could feel biomass fueling his legs, and leapt high into the air. Not high enough to be seen by all of the market place, but high enough to get to the flat roof of the two story building next to himself.

Once he was at the top, he saw the other boy trying to catch up, and glancing down the alley just to see nothing.

Calvin scratched his head,

_Where did he go? He was just here! _

Calvin looked around, and even up to the roof of the building, which Adrian barely poked his head behind, laying on his back to avoid detection.

Calvin, not seeing much other choice, tried to reach down and try to use his pulse ability again, to try and find the boy with the crutch, while Adrian braced himself, almost sensing his stalker ready to do what he did earlier, until they both heard a shout.

Calvin stepped out of the alley to find the source, while Adrian leaned up and turned around from his hiding spot on the roof.

There, they both saw a small pink haired girl shoved down to the ground by three larger boys, dressed in a school uniform that neither of them recognized.

Two of them were shorter with brown hair and dark eyes, while the third was taller with black hair and beady eyes. All three of them had serious scowls on their faces, and they seemed to be aimed at this poor girl.

"If you don't have the yen, get out of the market place you little brat!" The leader yelled nastily.

Calvin glared at the three, losing his initial thought of using his pulse power, while Adrian tightened a fist,

"Oh fuck that!" Calvin said quietly to himself, and began to quickly stride to the three bullies.

"No way I'm letting that slide," Adrian said to himself, and flipped back onto his back on the roof, removing his hood and quickly changing his appearance...

As the two boys began to do right by them, Katrina rounded a corner, still holding the bag of fruit and the black feather,

_I just don't get it...what does a church have to do with any-?_

Katrina was unable to finish her thought when she saw Riko rising to her feet about thirty feet away from her,

"Please! I was just hungry-!"

Riko was then shoved to the ground again by the lead bully,

"Just get out of here! Stupid bitch!"

Katrina instantly dropped the bag of fruit and the feather, feeling that familiar welling from the bottom of her stomach and about to reach her heart. This screeched to a halt when she saw another boy with a buzzed down head step up.

Calvin stepped in front of the leader, had a fist reared back, and sent it straight into the leaders nose. He felt the cartilage break against his knuckles as the cruel boy was sent careening backwards, earning shocked glares from the other two.

"Hey! Leave the girl alone and go fuck yourselves!"

Right when Calvin felt one of the shorter bullies grab him, Calvin turned to the side and elbowed him in the face. He then turned to throw a punch at the third and final bully, but was instead grappled by the two shorter ones while the leader approached them, nose bleeding and cracking his knuckles.

"I'm gonna bloody you up, baldy!"

Calvin then began to take punch after punch from the lead bully, with the other two securing his arms, and everyone else in the market place either watched or simply continued to mind their own business. Riko could only sit on the ground crying, while Katrinas' rage began to spike once again,

_Why the hell is no one helping him? _Wondered Katrina. _Has all humanity just lost its care for its own kind?!_

Katrina began to close the gap between herself and the scene, making it halfway until she sees a new figure approach; he was dressed in the same school uniform as the bullies, and appeared to be the same age as the boy that stood up for Riko, but to the shock of both girls, he had the same pink hair and red eyes as Riko!

He placed a hand on the shoulder of the leader,

"Mind if I tag in?" He asked convincingly. The leader looked down at the boys uniform, and with a smirk, he stepped aside.

The new boy grabbed a handful of Calvin's shirt, and with a quick tug he lifted him up into the air, out of the grasp of the other two bullies.

Calvin looked down at the new boy, but to his surprise, he received a wink, and the newcomer sent a fist and a foot to the two shorter schoolboys.

The pink haired boy then dropped Calvin, turned and landed a powerful punch to the face of the leader, sending him stumbling to the rough ground with a distinct _THUD_!

The newcomer turned to Calvin, reaching a hand out to him,

"You okay?" He asked.

Calvin looked at this newcomer with a raised eyebrow, and hesitantly accepted the helping hand,

"I'm fine-WATCH OUT!"

The pink haired boy whirled around just in time to see a fist flying straight for his face, but stopped just an inch short as both Calvin and the unknown pink haired boy saw the forearm of the lead bully grabbed by a gloved hand.

Katrina, having seen enough, finally closed the gap between herself and the scene, grabbed the arm of the lead bully, and with zero warning, tightened her grip, snapping his forearm in two.

The bully let loose a shrill scream as he sank to his knees, with Katrina still clutching his broken arm as she spoke to him in a quiet yet serious tone,

"I will only say this once," she warned, "leave!"

She then released the broken arm, and all three delinquents couldn't run away fast enough. Katrina immediately turned to Riko, ignoring Calvin and the newcomer and crouching down next to her sibling,

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She asked with legitimate concern, cupping Rikos' face with her hands and turning it to the side to carefully look, but the small girl raised her own hands and pulled Katrinas' away,

"I'm fine Big Sister," said Riko, and smiled at Calvin and the newcomer, "but I'm glad these two boys were here to help me." Katrina turned to Calvin, but her eyes grew wide when she got a better look of the pink hair and red eyes of the newcomer.

Katrina slowly rose up, approaching the pink haired boy,

"So...you saved my sister?" The newcomer paused, and gestured to Calvin,

"Well, this guy did the saving, and then I saved his a-..." The newcomer then saw Calvin's glare, but stopped when he saw Riko staring at him, and cleared his throat, "...it was a team effort." Katrina then brought her hands to the newcomers face, as if seductively,

"Do you have a name?"

The newcomer froze, and in the blink of an eye, came up with a name,

"Richard! Richard...Rourke," he lied, "b-but my friends call me Richie." Katrina nodded, only half listening as she ran her hands up the sides of his face,

"Uh-huh..." Katrina then forced 'Richies' head down forward, inspecting the top of his head carefully,

"Ow! What are you...?" Richie couldn't argue, caught off guard as he felt how strong Katrina was.

"I'm just checking for something," she said, and Riko stepped forward,

"Big Sister, he isn't like me. I could have told you that." Katrina released Richie, and turned to Riko, confused,

"But how would you have been able to know...?" Her thought was cut short as several loud stomach growls resounded, with embarrassed looks coming from Riko, Katrina and even Calvin,

"Eh heh," the Conduit chuckled sheepishly, reaching into his pack and pulling out a pair of banknotes, "So...who's hungry?"


	6. LunchRush

Chapter 3: Lunch Rush

Before long, Katrina had retrieved her bag of fruit and the feather, while Calvin had four steaming bowls of Chashu Pork Ramen were served to the Conduit, the Diclonius, the disguised Blacklight carrier, and the Ash Gray Girl.

Riko was digging into her bowl with clear cut glee, enjoying the well cooked food, even if the chef kept giving all of them dirty looks the whole time.

"This is so good!" Riko said with a mouthful of pork, "I don't think I've ever had anything like this before!"

"Riko, don't talk with your mouth full," said Katrina, but she too was enjoying the ramen. She simply decided to keep her enthusiasm to herself.

"It's good," said Calvin, also with a mouthful, but quickly swallowed, "especially considering I haven't eaten in..." he stopped before he could blurt out _one year_, and rethought his statement, "...a while."

Adrian, or 'Richie,' as the others have taken to calling him, finished his bowl and set it down next to himself,

"Not bad," he said, making sure his tone was out of earshot of the chef, "but if I got the recipe to this one woman I know, _if_ she gets a restaurant again, she could easily make it that much better."

"Oh really?" Said Calvin, setting his finished bowl aside to hear what Adrian had to say, "what's her name?"

Adrian paused, thought to himself, and shrugged his shoulders as he came up with yet another lie to tell,

"Victoria Michaels," he said truthfully, right before he added his lie, "I read up on her old restaurant she had back in New York before that outbreak happened, and I heard she just moved here to Kuoh Town." Riko gave Adrian a look of awe, while Katrina curiously leaned in, and Calvin remained skeptical.

"C'mon. She can't be _that_ great," said Calvin, voicing his skepticism. Adrian gave him a knowing smile,

"Trust me, if it exists, she could cook it to five star quality..." Adrian then paused, "...except for Asian Cuisine, which is why I guess w-," Adrian quickly stopped himself, before revealing his true identity. He cleared his throat, "Excuse me, why I guess _she_ chose to come here. To better learn how to cook some new foods to add to her ever growing menu."

Rikos' face was flushed, quietly wishing she wasn't already full so she could day dream of the delicious food she could have, while Calvin scoffed with a smirk,

"I'll believe it when I taste it, Mr...Rourke?"

"Yeah," said Adrian, returning the smirk, "I bet soon enough you will, Mr...?"

"Calvin," said the Conduit, "Calvin Hicks." The disguised Blacklight carrier nodded, and turned to Riko,

"And I don't think I got your name little miss...?" Riko smiled at Adrian,

"My name is Riko! Thanks again for standing up to those bullies, and saving Calvin!" The Conduit raised an eyebrow at the little girl, until she turned towards him, "And thank you for buying lunch Calvin!"

Calvin quietly chuckled to himself while ruffling the girls hair through her hat, and was surprised to feel two distinct bumps on the top of her head.

He took his hand away and sighed,

"We should probably get you an ice pack," he said, trying to hide his concern, "I think those jerks that shoved you left a couple of bumps on your head." Riko turned to him with a look of naivety,

"Oh, those bullies didn't do that, they're just my-."

"She's fine, Calvin," Katrina cut off, "_that_ is not your concern. She was just born with those...bumps."

Riko paused, and turned back to her bowl,

"Yes. Sister is right. I was just born with them...and people hate me for that," she said, adding a bit of truth to what Katrina was saying.

Calvin saw this, and did his best to comfort her,

"Well I think it's dumb for people to act that way like those other idiots did towards you," said Calvin, doing his best to be nice to Riko, rather than be spiteful to the bullies, and surprisingly enough, it worked!

"I don't think I got your name," Adrian said abruptly to Katrina.

For the first time since she snapped the arm of the lead bully, Katrina frowned, and glared at Adrian,

"I would be more than willing to give you my name, if I had yours first." Adrian chuckled nervously,

"You already have my name. It's Richard Rourke." Katrina gave him a knowing frown,

"Your _real_ name."

Now it was Adrians' turn to frown, but before he could say anything, there were several shouts up the street, and this led to the four ramen eaters to look and see the three bullies once again, but now they were accompanied by an entire group of boys wielding shinai.

Adrian stood up, keeping his eyes on the bullies,

"Not sure what your name is," he said to Katrina, "but I can say this: once I lead those yahoos away from here, take Riko and run the other damn way." Katrina was confused,

"Why?"

"So Riko doesn't get hurt from them again," he said, and he stepped into the middle of the street, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted loudly, "HEY! ASSHOLES!!" The bullies turned to this seemingly insane pink haired boy that shared their school uniforms, who held both his middle fingers up at them, "THIS WAY!!"

Adrian then darted off and away from the group, not at a speed to alert them of his superhuman speed, but just enough to keep them at a distance.

As soon as Adrian and the bullies passed by, Katrina quickly stood up, gently but firmly gripping Riko by the hand,

"Thank you for lunch, Calvin, but Riko and I really need to be going." Katrina was about to grab her pack and briskly walk away, but not before Calvin asked the question,

"Can I at least get your name first? Just to hold it over Richies' head." Katrina looked back at him, and she didn't know why exactly, but she gave him a small smile, and answered,

"Katrina." Calvin nodded, and she and Riko walked away. Calvin then thought to himself,

_I guess now I can go back to trying to find that guy with the crutch, _he thought. He then closed his eyes, focusing, trying to feel the feeling he had before, and to knowledge of no one but himself, he released another pulse...

As Adrian continued to run away from the bullies, he ran to what appeared to be a bridge, passing over a street with sidewalks on either side, and saw a pair of stair cases that went down to the sidewalks. With one quick leap, he jumped into the air, arms out, legs at a certain angle so he could land correctly, almost in the clear.

Then it hit him, just like before, an invisible wave of electricity that passed through his body, making him convulse mid bound, and the guise of 'Richie' fell away, and once again, Adrian Michaels was back in the world.

He began to fall down the stairs, actually bouncing down, once, twice, and with his eyes squeezed shut from the pain he finally landed face first at the bottom of the stairs.

Luckily, his face landed on something soft.

He brought his left hand up, placing it on the safe softness, and brought his face up, and his eyes widened at what they saw; long crimson red hair, fair skin, blue green eyes, and a school uniform that Adrian knew he would have to get used to seeing.

Then it occurred to him; this young woman just broke his fall, his face landed in her bosom, and he currently had his left hand on her right breast.

"Oh my god!" Adrian was quickly back on his feet, "I am so sorry! I just...I..." Adrian was at a loss for words, and was struggling between holding out a hand, to help her up, or to keep it to himself, figuring she didn't want his touch again.

The young woman saw his struggle, and held her own hand out, wanting to be helped up,

"It's...It's fine." Adrian gently took her hand, helping her to her feet, and for some reason, neither one said anything. It soon turned awkward for both of them as the silence hit,

"Well...this is...uh..." Adrian began to run a hand through what he thought was pink hair, but instead found his hood up, hiding his face.

_Wait, my disguise is down? _

"Hey! You!" Adrian turned around, and was shocked to see the bullies had reconvened at the foot of the stairs, kendo swords at the ready.

_Fuck, _was the only word running through Adrians' mind, but what the lead bully said next caught him directly off guard,

"Did you see a punk in pink hair run by here?"

Adrian blinked, shook his head and lied through his teeth,

"Nope. Sorry." The lead bully then grunted, and the entire group stormed past him and the crimson haired girl, still looking for 'Richie.'

Once the group had passed, it was just Adrian and the girl again.

"Well, um..." Adrian said awkwardly, "...I wish we met under different circumstances, miss...?" The girl lightly smirked, and upheld herself in a way that made Adrian feel intimidated.

"My name is Rias Gremory," she said, introducing herself, "and it's nice to make your acquaintance, Mr...?" Adrian coughed, running out of names to use, and spit out the first name that came to mind,

"Calvin. Calvin Hicks." Rias' smile faded, and was replaced with an arched eyebrow, and he didn't know how, but Adrian felt that she saw straight through his lie.

"'Calvin Hicks...?' Are you sure that's your name?" Adrian gave a nervous laugh,

"Of course it is!"

"Are you positive?" Adrian opened his mouth to respond, but froze, _because it wasn't Rias asking if he was positive. _

Adrian whirled around, and saw _the real_ Calvin Hicks standing right behind him, arms folded in front of him, and glaring at Adrian.

"If your name is really Calvin Hicks, then I guess I'm Richard Rourke then," said Calvin, using his fingers to italicize 'Richard Rourke.'

It was at that moment, Adrian knew he was fucked...


End file.
